Thursday, January 22, 2009

Mellow Yellow

The words of Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction at the inauguration and his wish for a day when 'yellow could be mellow' are still ringing in my ears. Mellow yellow--I am already there, Reverend.I started this Scrunchable Scarf last March, and it wasn't until Earthchick reminded of this pattern that I decided to pick it up and finish it. Such a great pattern--you could practically knit this while driving, if you were so inclined...

The Specs:Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf by Susan McConneYarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Butter. Has a yarn ever been more aptly named?Needles: Size 10Verdict: Love it! I have another one on the needles at the moment as well in the crazy Apple Green and it is going to be a stunner for sure.

Today I acquired what might be the ultimate yellow--Malabrigo Silky Merino in 'Narciso' (pictured above). I stand in awe of its yellow beauty and am determined to make this my next shawl. Isn't it amazing?

I am starting to recognize something about my stash habits that is quite valuable--I have realized that I like to knit whatever yarn I have just purchased. There is a window sill in our living room that has gradually become a holding tank for my recently purchased yarn. After a few months in this spot, yarn that has failed to spark my interest is most likely to be carted away to the stash on the third floor and likely not see the light of day for a very, very long time. This bothers me because a. it is a waste of money and yarn, b. makes me feel like a glutton and c. just seems like something a crazy person with spending issues would do (dingdingding for all of the above!!). So I'm thinking about something radical, like getting rid of my entire upstairs stash except for a few choice skeins of this 'n that and sticking to the yarn on the window sill.

I think I am the kind of knitter that was meant to not have a stash.

Perhaps fantasizing about getting rid of one's stash is in fact part of the sickness. Is this idea deeply nutty?

I just gave away a bunch of my yarn and it felt really GOOD. I don't know if I could go completely stashless, but I'm working on making it a hell of a lot smaller. So no, I don't think you're crazy (well, not because of your destashing urge anyway).

GREAT scarf! The patterns is great indeed.. I know your problem about buying yarn, not using it and through it at in a stash on the addict. I have the same... and I'm a true yarn addict so I have so much! Good luck with your stash!

The idea is nutty but not because of you having it... it's nutty because your destashed yarn will get to another windowsill and then another third floor and then will be forgotten about and then destashed once more and find another windowsill... So that it enters the complete endless nutsiness of us all.That's why I loooove the idea. (By the way, I have a brand new huge windowsill in my new kitchen - just sayin' ;-)

I think most of us who stash suffer from the "Ooh, shiny!" dilemma. We fall in love with something, buy it, and then want to knit with it right away. If we don't knit it up immediately, something else is bound to fall in front of us first, making us forget what we used to lust after. Me? I'm trying to fall in love with my stash again, because I know at one point I loved and had to have every yarn in it.

I'm in the knit-what-I-just-bought club, too. You'd think that would stop me from purchasing a hundred bucks of yarn on a whim, but strangely, no.

In the last week, I had to pack up the stash for the "big move" to the new house, and I was alarmed and relatively ashamed at how much yarn I have that I had just plum forgotten about (especially concerning because the yarn had been displayed in yarn-store-esq shelving right in my bedroom, so it's not like I wasn't seeing it on a daily basis). Despite this fact, I cannot imagine parting with most of it. I applaud you for even thinking of it!

Your scrunchable scarf is lovely. I adore yellow! In fact, I just painted the new living room a fabulous light mustard shade (sounds terrible, but I swear it's gorgeous)!

I too tend to knit with what I most recently bought as well, and have accumulated an ever growing stash. Interestingly, I also greatly enjoy knitting from the stash - there is something very liberating about using up skeins I've already got. It makes me feel like I more justifiably buy another $100 of yarn in one spell. This past holiday season I did a lot of knitting from the stash. Quick hats, ornaments, etc. It was great to feel like I was using some of what I had.

Your scarf is so gorgeous! I LOVE that Malabrigo Butter. As a matter of fact, I've got a few skeins of that sitting in my 3rd floor stash :)

I love that scarf. Anything knit with Malabrigo turns out fantastic. It sounds like a lot of us like to knit with our most recent purchases. I'm always shocked when somebody just happens to have enough of a great yarn in their stash to knit an entire sweater. I have all of these little odds and ends.

I think you need to employ one of those gorgeous girls of yours to periodically go into your stash, choose something delicious, put all of the matching skeins into an LYS bag and give it to you with a little flourish. If it languishes long enough to be re-stashed after a second windowsill period, eBay it, gift it, or whatever, but give it that second chance first.

Cricket(can't use the Blogger identity because our for-the-grandparents blog includes daughters' names...)

So pretty! I have some Malabrigo in Sealing Wax that may need to become this scarf. I totally understand the oh shiny response to yarn... the latest is always the best. I read an article on destashing that talked about how yarn makes you feel, if it makes you feel good and happy, keep it! If it doesn't, destash. I am concentrating on only purchasing that which makes me TRULY happy.

I tend to want to knit from the recently bought pile until I go looking for something specific and then a lot of the old timers start calling my name. Maybe instead of heading to the LYS, you could head to the 3rd floor LYS and shop there!! Or get rid of it to some of your loyal blog readers! LOL

i hear ya! i am not a stasher anymore...strange but true. i decided as long as i am moving to ebay all my unused stash that i do not LOVE (i saved those and intend to knit the few skeins left asap). i love the feeling of starting totally fresh and just buying a yarn i love and knitting it immediately. refreshing!

Such is the cycle of yarn - you destash and more yarn fills in those empty spaces only to destash some more. It's a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as your squishy scarf there. Love that Malabrigo. And I also loved Rev. Lowery's benediction.

I don't know what advice to give you A.D.D. Knitter (seems like with a name like yours, you'd need as much stash as possible). I have been pondering this whole stash issue a lot myself. But I'll tell you a a scary story. On a whim last year, to rid myself of yarn guilt and get some extra cash, I started destashing. Some I've sold, I've never missed. Once or twice, I've gone looking for something, only to remember it's gone. The part of this dream that may be scary to you? I sold my Malabrigo (What can I say? I was in love with another.) In my mind, I wasn't worried. MY LYS is always stocked heavily with it. I can get more. That's what I foolishly thought! I wandered back to the Malabrigo corner a year later to get some for a hat or two and *gasp* its was gone! No longer there! Now I have regret...

I know what you mean about the allure of new yarn. Getting rid of the upstairs stash might work, but I'd be sure to save not just a few choice skeins, but also some sweater quantities and things that have been discontinued and aren't easily replaceable.

as for the stash, i put up a lot of mine for sale on ravelry and have managed to get rid of most of the skeins i know i will never knit. AND i've been knitting almost 85% from my stash for the past two years. that's not REALLY saying much seeing as i gave birth and there wasn't much knitting going on but still... :)

eegaddazz! Wow. I'm sure you have a fantastic stash and gosh, it would be so hard for me to let go of mine. But I know the feeling. At times I feel so bound to the stash and I don't want it around anymore. Good luck! :)